The Hamburg-Le Havre range* The gateway to the European continent *All ports and logistics nodes located between the seaporst of Hamburg and Le Havre

Hub for global corridors Overview of major trade corridors Corridors have become the main arteries of world trade. All major sea routes have at least one stopover in the H-LH range Even if new corridors arise the range will remain an important hub for future cargo flows Possible new routes are the opening of new larger Panama Canal locks in 2014, The Cape route, Northern Sea Route (NSR), east-west rail corridors and North South land corridors Source: Notteboom 2012

Land side corridors RNE corridors Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Six European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Corridors exist RailNetEurope (RNE) developed corridor management along a set of European rail corridors Corridors C02, C03 and C05 are especially important for Ghent and the range International freight-oriented corridors are under development for example the planned full reactivation of the Iron Rhine link between Antwerp and Germany Source: www.rne.eu

Large concentration of major trade nodes in the area Target markets for European ports Large concentration of major trade nodes in the area In the last fifteen years, the dynamics in logistics networks have created the right conditions for a large-scale development of freight villages and inland ports throughout Europe. The range has a large number of seaports working as nodes: Ghent, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Antwerp. Many inland locations with multimodal access have become broader logistics zones. An other main entry or exit nodes for goods in Europe are airports. The Benelux region is equipped with some of the biggest cargo airports within Europe, i.e. Schiphol, Luxembourg, Brussels and Liège. Source: Notteboom 2011 Major cargo airports in Europe Source: Vonck, Notteboom 2013

Largest share of imports across Europe Overview of cargo shares in Europe The share of the Delta in the entire European port system is particularly high in the container business, followed by liquid and dry bulk. Flemish ports are responsible for 20,9% of all the cargo transported in the range and 6,3% of all European cargo, these figures may vary depending on cargo type (for e.g. Breakbulk levels are 30% and 7%) Source: Notteboom 2011

At the core of the blue bananna The Blue Banana At the core of the blue bananna The range is located in the center of the Blua Banana The Blue Banana encompasses the region between London and Milan. After further economic developments the region was enlarged towards Valencia and Madrid. The final adjustments allowed for an increase in activity in the Eastern European countries, these are called the ‘Blue Fingers’. Connectivity to emerging logistics zones in the East is in a number one priority for local nodes Source: Vonck 2013

The Rhine-Scheldt delta* Beating heart of the HLH range (also known as ARA Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam region) *All ports and logistics nodes located between Amsterdam and Zeebrugge

Home for specialised cargo Overview of steel mills in Europe India, China, Scandinavia and Russia are key markets for Belgian ports in a variaety of markets Many of Europe’s steel plants are located in seaport areas. The majority of break bulk in the port of Ghent is comprised of steel (90%) In Belgium, a lot of the production is sent to other facilities for value-adding activities and finishing. The final products are distributed across Europe to main buyers in a.o. Germany, France, the UK, Turkey and Switzerland. Source: Notteboom 2011

Strong hinterland connections The creation of inland terminals mainly benefited container flows, but also break bulk flows increasingly use rail and barge. The further development of major inland ports such as Liège and the development of the Seine-Nord Canal are expected to boost the use of barges in the break bulk cargo trade even further.

A specialized industrial port The port of Ghent A specialized industrial port

Belgian rail system in constant evolution RNE corridors The rail system is evolving from a national control policy towards a more harmonious European policy. The liberalization of the rail network led to a split between infrastructure management and rail operations. Belgium is thus a medium to late adopter of rail liberalisation, but is catching up fast. Licensed rail operators in Belgium include NMBS, Fret SNCF, Crossrail Benelux, Veolia, Cargo Nederland, Trainsport, ERS Railways, SNCF Fret Benelux, Rotterdam Rail, Feeding and CFL Cargo. With infrabel as infrastructure manager Big pitfalls are capacity shortages on peak moments and the priority of passenger trains leading to an uncertain cargo service. Source: Danny Debussere photography

In the center of the warhousing hotspots Warehousing activity in the Netherlands In the center of the warhousing hotspots Belgium counts close to 2,900 warehousing related enterprises The Belgian ports have a lot to offer in terms of geographical location and nautical accessibility, port labour, availability of space, hinterland accessibility, cargo generating capacity and innovation. Over 60% of the EU spending power is located in an area stretching 500 km from the ports. Source: Vonck, Notteboom 2013 Warehousing activity in Belgium Source: Vonck, Notteboom 2013

In the center of the warhousing hotspots Logistics hotspots in Belgium detailled Belgium is well represented in three out of the four market segments shown below The larger Ghent area is one of the major locations for warehousing in Belgium Source: Vonck, Notteboom 2013 Distribution centers in Europe overview Source: Capgemini 2006

The The Seine-Nord project The Seine basin and Scheldt basin are two of Europe’s most important industrial regions. Flanders, the gateway to Europe and the Rhine-Scheldt delta will become connected to the regions of Le Havre Rouen and Paris and vice versa. The new connection enters Belgium via the Leie at Deulemont and continues across Wallonian territory into Wervik. From there on it reaches the canal of Ghent-Brugge. After entering the port of Ghent via the Noordervak and Ringvaart it follows the canal of Ghent-Terneuzen into the river Scheldt. The new connection is expected to particularly strengthen the role of Ghent as a barge hub between northern France, the Rhine basin and the other Rhine-Scheldt Delta ports. The Seine-Nord project Source: Vonck, Notteboom 2013

Activities in Ghent The Kluizendok, one of the biggest ‘greenfield’ terrains in Europe is finished for over 50% with full utilities and roads allowing companies to locate in the port area. By 2020 the dock should be fully operational In the old port area an additional 25% of the current land is more efficiently utilized due to various PA “brownfield” projects Elsewhere in the port area 60 hectares is developed towards waterfront sites and another 150 ha are given in concession for port-related activities.

Activities in Ghent De Nest and Rieme-noord are the two main logistical sites under development in the port of Ghent. De Nest is 160 ha large and offers space for (inter)national, regional and local companies. Rieme-noord, about 100 ha large and ideally placed for distribution and logistics companies thanks to a new access road and a connection to the R4 road. The development of this site started in 2011.